Bangladesh revokes Sheikh Hasina’s diplomatic passport

Dhaka’s new authorities said that Sheikh Hasina, and other former top officials during her tenure, could apply for a standard passport, but that those documents were contingent on approval.

Updated - August 22, 2024 10:16 pm IST

Published - August 22, 2024 08:55 pm IST - Dhaka

Students chant slogans near a vandalised mural of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during a protest near Dhaka University in the Bangladesh capital on August 12, 2024.

Students chant slogans near a vandalised mural of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during a protest near Dhaka University in the Bangladesh capital on August 12, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP

Bangladesh’s interim government revoked the diplomatic passport of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina on Thursday (August 22, 2024), after she fled a student-led uprising earlier this month.

The interior ministry said in a statement that Ms. Hasina’s passport, as well as those belonging to former government ministers and ex-lawmakers no longer in their posts, “have to be revoked”.

More than 450 people were killed — many by police fire — during the weeks leading up to Ms. Hasina’s ouster, as crowds stormed her official residence in Dhaka.

A United Nations team arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday (August 22, 2024) to assess whether to investigate alleged human rights violations committed during protests that ended Hasina’s iron-fisted 15-year rule.

“The former Prime Minister, her advisers, the former cabinet and all members of the dissolved national assembly were eligible for diplomatic passports by virtue of the positions they held,” the ministry said in a statement.

“If they have been removed or retired from their posts, their and their spouses’ diplomatic passports have to be revoked.”

Hasina’s government was accused of widespread abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killing of political opponents.

Dhaka’s new authorities said that Ms. Hasina, and other former top officials during her tenure, could apply for a standard passport, but that those documents were contingent on approval.

“When the aforementioned people apply afresh for ordinary passports, two security agencies have to clear their application for their passports to be issued,” the ministry added.

Hasina, who fled to India, was a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose government preferred her over her rivals from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which it saw as closer to conservative Islamist groups.

While India is hosting Hasina, Modi has also offered his support to the new Bangladeshi leader Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who is heading the caretaker administration.

Yunus has said his administration would “provide whatever support” UN investigators need.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.